Divisible carton



April 19, 1966 R. A. ENGLANDER ETAL 3,246,796

DIVISIBLE CARTON Filed Jan. 2l, 1964 y 5 Sheets-SheetI 1 INVENTORY ATTORNEYS 131K/MM R. A. ENGLANDER ETAL DIVISIBLE CARTON April 19, 1966 Filed Jan. 21, 1964 April 19, 1966 R. A. ENGLANDER ETAL 3,246,796

DIVISIBLE CARTON Filed Jan. 2l, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS [9055er 716,4 /f/vf/ GEORG E 45'. /VCVE /61/5/ ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,246,796 DIVISEBLE CARTON Robert A. Englander, 362i Manton Drive, and George S. McVeigh, 325 Saimpter St., both f Lynchburg, Va. Filed `lan. 2.1, 1964, Ser. No. 339,222 14 Claims. (Cl. 220-115) This invention relates to cartons and in particular to unitary multiple unit cartons adapted to be readily separated into individual carton units yet which have high strength and rigidity.

In the packaging of some types of merchandise, such as canned beer, canned foods and bottled goods, the cans or bottles are conveniently sold at retail in a relatively small, light-weight carrier package, commonly referred to as four-packs, six-packs, twelve-packs and the like. Such multi-pack carriers may be of a wrap-around cardboard type or a plastic suspension type which grips the articles near the top. While these small packages are desirable at the retail level they are not convenient, by themselves, when large amounts of the merchandise are to be handled and shipped. As a result it is customary to provide an exterior case or container in which several of the smaller carton units are placed for handling, stacking, shipping, etc. With conventional cardboard multi-packs or plastic suspension type multi-packs, it is customary to provide an open-topped corrugated cardboard box, or tray, which holds for instance four six-packs together so that they may be handled as a single case of 24 articles of merchandise yet readily displayed and sold in six-pack form at the retail level,

Obviously, the cost of an exterior container for the carton units increases the overall cost of packaging the merchandise. In one approach to the problem it has been suggested that the additional container for cardboard carton units can be reduced in size to a band-like structure by providing a divisible unitary carton which is suitable for shipping the merchandise and which can be separated along perforations into the convenient six-pack form for retail sale. These divisible cartons have not been found to be completely satisfactory, however, principally because they must be of such heavy or complicated construction that they cost as much as the lighter carton units plus tray or because they have insufficient strength and rigidity to withstand handling, stacking and shipping.

Heretofore it has been suggested that the most economical manner of packaging carton units is the use of plastic suspension clips incomb-ination with an exterior cardboard container. However, the present invention effects additional economies over this combination by completely eliminating the exterior container while at the same time providing a cheap easily fabricated divisible. carton which maintains the billboard or advertising surface not available with plastic clips.

It -is therefore the principal object of the present invention to reduce the cost of packaging canned or bottled merchandise or the like for shipment and retail sale by providing a unitary divisible carton of economicalY construction having sufl'icient strength and rigidity that it may be used as a shipping container for the merchandise without the necessity of providing an auxiliary tray or other reinforcing container.

It is a further object to provide a single carton blank for accomplishing the above object which is readily formed into the desired carton and which is easily divisible into carton units when desired. Another object is the provision of a carton which is divisible into many desirable configurations Vfrom a retail selling point of View. This invention allows for instance, to merchandise product from a single shipping unit in six-packs, twelve-packs, or the full twenty-four pack, each with a convenient carrying means.

3,246,796 Patented Apr. 19, 1966 A further object is the development of a carton blank that has substantially no more board area than required by the conventional multi-pack and yet precludes the need of an auxiliary container for shipping; thereby reducing the packaging cost by the cost vof said auxiliary container.

It is a further object to provide a carton of the above type in which each carton unit is closed by a plurality of novel locking tab mechanisms each of which is separately and readily releasable so that some of the articles of merchandise can be removed from the carton unit without removing all of them and without destroying the carton unit.

A further object is to provide a carton of the above type having an upper handle portion which is defined by a tear-olf strip, removal of which divides the carton along a vertical plane.

Other objects an advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a carton constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic perspective View, on a reduced scale, of the carton of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic exploded view of the carton of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a carton blank for making the carton of FIGURE l;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are schematic end views of the carton blank of FIGURE 4 showing the manner in which it is folded into the carton of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view, looking from above, of the locking tab arrangement which holds the carton together;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary perspective View, looking from below, of the locking tab arrangement of FIG- URE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a vertical sectional view of the locking tab arrangement;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken on the line .I0-10 of FIGURE l; and

FIGURE ll is a schematic end View of the carton blank folded in a slightly different manner.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2 there is shown a unitary divisable carton 1d of an open-ended type having horizontal top and bottom walls 12a and 14a joined by vertical side walls ida and an upstanding two-ply handle No. The carton is folded from a single blank IS of cardboard into a size and shape to hold 24 cans of beer and is divisible, as seen in FIGURE 3, along a transverse vertical plane and a longitudinal vertical plane into four equal carton units lila, 10b, 10c and 16d, each which is capable of retaining 6 can-s 'of beer. One plane of division is defined by perforations 19 in the handle 17a and by a series of relatively long cut lines 20 and integral connecting nicks 22 in the carton blank 18 (FIGURE 4). The other plane of division lies in the plane between two coextensive vertical partitions 24a which divide the complete carton 10 into two equal compartments. As seen from FIGURE 3 division along the cut lines 20 and nicks 22 forms two twelve-packs, each of which may be further divided into two six-packs if desired.

As shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 the carton blank 18 is rectangular and may be shaped into the carton 10 generally by bringing the ends of the blank toward the middle and securing them to the material of the blank in spaced relation to a transverse score line 26 which extends completely across the blank at its middle. More specically, the carton 10 is formed by iirst folding the blank 1S downwardly against itself along the middle score line 26 to place the partitions 24a in engagement with each other, folding each half outwardly, then upwardly and finally inwardly toward the partitions 24a. This folding operation is facilitated by providing three equi-spaced transverse score lines 28, and 32 on each side of the middle score line 26 so as to divide the blank into portions which will form the bottom, side and partition panels. Thus, the score lines 28, 3i) and 32 and the series of longitudinal cut lines 2G and nicks 22 dene four groups of four panels each. Each group, which consists of a top panel 12, a bottom panel 14, a side panel 16 and a partition 24, forms one of the carton units 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d.

In the completed carton shown in FIGURE l each end of the blank 18 is attached to the nearest partition 24 below the upper edge thereof with the result that the twoply handle 17a is actually an upper extension of the parti tion panels 24. In practice the plys of the handle will be secured to each other as by stapling or with bonding agent. Attachment of the ends of the blank 18 to the partitions 24 is effected with locking tab mechanisms onehalf of which are formed in the blank near the middle score line 26 and the other half of which are formed near the ends of the blank, The parts of the mechanisms which are formed near the middle score line 26 fold out of the plane of the partition 24 thereby providing linger holes 34 in the handle 17.

In .the construction described, the locking arrangement (see FIGURES l, 4, 7, 8 and 9) consists of a plurality of separately releasable tab mechanisms which permit release of some of the retained beer cans while retaining the others. As shown, each top panel 12 is provided with three transversely spaced tabs 35 each of which is foldable out of the plane of the blank 18 along a line, defined by two score lines 36 separated by a cut line 38. Each tab 35 includes a rectangular locking portion 4@ integral with the blank along one long edge and a small, generally square release flap 42 projecting from the other long edge toward the end of the blank. The release ap 42 is centrally located with respect to the rectangular locking portion 4t) so that the latter provides two locking edges 44 `and 46, one on either side of the flap 42. While the flap 42 and the locking portion 4t) are not separated by a score line, the two are separately deectable to a small extent by virtue of the flexibility of the material of the blank. This relative movement is increased by two cut lines: 48, which extend a short distance into the locking portion 40 from points near the junctions of the locking edges 44 and 46 with the flap 42.

Each of the locking tabs 35 at the ends of the carton blank 18 are engageable with a cooperating locking tab 52 disposed near the middle foldline 26. As seen in FIG- URE 4 each tab 52 is generally trapezoidal in shape and is foldable out of the plane of blank 18 along the longer base which is defined by a short arcuate cut lline 54 and two fold lines 56 and 58. The free end of each tab 52 projects toward the middle fold line 26 and terminates' in a convex edge 60. The end portion together with the convex edge 6G is foldable about a line transverse to the blank 18 so yas to form a three-sided flap 62 which projects away from the edge 60. The ap 62 is defined by a cut line `64 which intersects two score lines 66 and 68 so that folding the end of the tab 52 downwardly along the lines 66 and 68 will raise the flap 62 upwardly.

In manipulating one of the tabs 35 and 52 to effect a lock each end of the blank 18 is rst placed at a right angle to and in engagement with the nearest partition 24 along the perforations 19. Then the tab 35 is folded out of the plane of its panel 12 to form a slot, and the tab 52 is rotated downwardly along the fold lines 56 and 58 so as to be insertable into the slot. This latter operation, as already indicated, leaves a finger hole 34 in the handle 17. After insertion of the tab 52 into the slot in the panel, the free end portion of the tab 52 is rotated downwardly about the lines 56 and 58 to the extent of about 180 relative to the remainder of the tab 52. This operation inverts the end portion and disposes the ap 4 62 generally underneath the rectangular locking portion 4t).

The tabs 35 and 52 are lso designed that in this position the edges 44 land 46 of the tab 35 generally overlie the fold lines 66 and 68 of the tab 52. By then forcing the edges 44 and 46 downwardly past the fold lines 66 and 68 the former become latched under the latter. At the same time the release ap 42 assumes a position over the hole produced by rotating the flap 62 and slightly raised from the plane of the tab 52. In this position the tabs 35 and 52 are interlocked in a manner which strongly resists separation of the two by normal stresses encountered during handling. At the same tim-e they are readily releasable by pulling up on the release flap 42 with a finger. This operation forces the edges 44 and 46 upwardly past the tab 52 and thereby destroys the locking function of the arrangement. It does not, however, disturb any of the other pairs of tabs 35 and 52. This is of considerable adv-antage when the consumer wishes to -remove only two cans from the carton unit while retaining the others in place.

Referring again to FIGURES l3 it will be seen that the spaces between adjacent tabs 52 and between the side edges of the blank 18 and the two outer tabs 52 are traversed by perforations 70 which lie on a transverse line through the fold lines 56 and 58. Thus, the handle 17 can be readily separated from the remainder of the carton 10 by tearing along the perforations 70. Since the cut lines which form the tabs 52 intersect the line of perforations 7d, the tabs 52 which are integral with the partitions 24, do not themselves hold adjacent carton units together. Therefore, removal of the handle 17 allows separation of the partitions 24 along their upper edges.

One of the important aspects of the invention is the attainment in a divisible carton of sufficient strength and rigidity to withstand the stresses of shipping and handling yet retain the characteristic of being readily separable when desired. It will be appreciated that during handling of a loaded carton 1t? it may be picked up manually in a number of different ways each of which creates different forces tending to distort or tear it. The carton of the invention, however, is capable of withstanding these forces without the use of any reinforcing means such as a tray or band. When picked up by being lifted from the ends, the carton 10 is restrained against buckling about its transverse axis by the nicks 22 and in the area of the handle 17, by perforations 19. While a line of perforations in lieu of the cut lines 20 and nicks 22 would also provide suicient strength, this construction would render manual separation of the necessary edges quite diicult because the strength and length of the perforations would likely require the use of a knife. Accordingly, the use of widely spaced nicks 22 is the preferred construction, because the nicks can be easily broken without the use of a knife or other tool, once the perforations 19 have been torn. The actual spacing and width of the nicks 22 will depend upon the size of the carton and the weight of the merchandise and are therefore subject to variation. In the embodiment illustrated, which is intended for standard beer cans, there are six nicks joining each of the end-to-end carton units. The abutting top panels 12 are joined 'by two nicks, the side panels 16 by one nick, the bottom panels 14 by two nicks and the partitions 24 by one nick.

'I'o provide resistance to upward buckling of the sides about a longitudinal axis the carton 10 is provided with means for restraining separation of the lower portions of the partitions 24. Since it may be desirable to divide the carton 10 longitudinally, as seen in FIGURE 3, the means for normally holding the partitions 24 together must be releasable. As shown, the partitions 24 on one side of the middle fold line 26 are each provided with a tab 74 which is foldable along the score line 32 and the bottom panels 14 on the other side of the line 26 are each provided with a slot 76 for receiving one of the tabs 74. Each slot 76 is formed by raising a tab 78 upwardly about a longitudinal score line 80. When thetab 74 has been extended through the slot 76, the free end of the tab 78 abuts the tab 74 and restrains its removal from the slot 76 as seen in FIGURE 10. The locking mechanisms thus formed are located so as to lie between adjacent beer cans and therefore do not affect the alignment of the latter.

Each of the top and bottom panels 12 and 14 of the carton is provided with three spaced separator ltabs 82 which are foldable into the carton to positions between pairs of cans. In addition each top panel 12 is provided with two spaced tabs 84 which, when folded downwardly, form finger holes 86. for carrying the respective six-pack after the handle 17 has been removed,

As an aid in retaining the cans in the carton 10 there are provided a plurality of ta'bs 8S which are folded into the completed carton 1i) along one of the score lines 28, 30 and 32. A short cutline 90 aids in detiecting each tab 88 when it is in use. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 4 each tab 88 has an arcuate edge 92 which engages the inner surface of the chime on a can and thus tends to hold the can in place. The tabs 8S are provided at the junctures of the bottom panels 14 with the partitions 24 and with the side panels 16 and at the juncture of the side panels 16 with the ytop panels 12. They are omitted at the juncture of the top panels with the partitions 24, but as seen in FIGURES 8 and 9, the arcuate edges 60 of the tabs S2 are so located as to reside within the top rim of the inner line of cans.

A modiiied carton 10 shown schematically in FIGURE 11 is folded from a blank which is identical with the blank 18. The difference between the two cartons resides in the manner in which the transverse center strips 1'7 of the blank 13 are folded and secured in place. When a handle on the completed carton is not desired, the strips 17 are folded downwardly between'the partitions 24 and are secured together with bon-ding agent. Prior to this step, of course, the tabs 52 are folded out of the blank 18 so as to be available for attaching to the tabs 35 in the manner already described.` Otherwise, the carton lil is identical with the carton 10.

The operation and purpose of the carton of the invention has been described above and need not be repeated except to the extent ofemphasizing the novel features thereof. It will be understood that the sequence of the folding steps is merely illustrative and that the advantages of the carton do not depend on whether the described sequence is Ifollowed. It will be appreciated also that the terms vertical, horizontal, transverse and longitudinal as used in the description and claims are employed merely to distinguish relative directions and are not intended to be absolute limitations.

The primary advantage of cartons of the invention, as already indicated, is the achievement of a low cost divisible carton which has suiiicient strength and rigidity to serve as its own shipping carton without requiring additional support. These advantages are achieved primarily by the handle construction, the nicks and a releasable means for holding the bottom of the partitions together. There are, however, other features which contribute to the low cost of the carton. For example, it will be noted that the blank is formed without any cut-out portions. This avoids waste of material and permits easier fabrication because no stripping operation is required for removal of cut-out parts. Another economy feature lies in the simultaneous formation of the locking tabs 52 and the finger holes 34 in the tear strips 17.

An additional important feature of the carton, which is related to the convenience with which it may be employed, is the nat-ure of the strips 17 which may be folded upwardly into a handle or downwardly if no handle is desired. In either case the securing of the strips to each other provides the necessary resistance to downward buckling o-f the sides ofthe carton. While the no-handle type construction presents no projection which might interfere Iwith stacking of the cartons, the handle-type construction can also readily be stacked, because the handle is easily folded along the perforations 70 into a horizontal position.

Another feature which renders the carton convenient to use is the independent releasability of each of the locking mechanisms 36, 52. As already mentioned, this feature permits the consumer to remove two cans at a time leaving the remaining ones securely packaged. The locking mechanisms themselves are advantageous in that they `are readily releasable by lifting on the release iap 42 with a finger, yet they provide a positive, secure closure. Still another feature is the adaptability of the carton to be divided in-to two twelve-packs each with a centr-ally located carrying handle 17 or into four six-packs. The removal of the handle 17 to form six-packs does not introduce any inconvenience because each six-pack is provided with finger holes iid in its top panel 1:2. Division along the cut lines 2t) and nicks 22 is readily accomplished manually by first tearing along the perforations 19 in the handle 17 and then breaking the carton 1G` into two equal parts along the cut lines 20 and nicks 212. The tearingV operation may be performed by gripping the handle 17 between the thu-mb and iirst linger of each hand and applying a twisting motion on either side of the perforations 19. The breaking operation may be accomplished by grasping the carton 10 on both sides of the line of cuts 2t) and nicks 22 and applying a single twisting or buckling motion to break the nicks 22. When forming six-packs from one of the twelve-packs, the handle 17 is easily removed by gripping it with the lingers of one hand and tearing along the perforations 7i).

While a specific carton blank and two embodiments of a carton having been described and illustrated, mod-ications thereof within the scope of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore not intended to limit the invention to the described details except as they appear -in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A carton divisible along a vertical plane, said carton having parallel top and bottom panels and parallel side panels and being formed of a single rectangular blank of diexible material, said blank being folded downwardly against itself along a middle line to form a two-ply wall 'whose top edge is deJned by the line of fold, then outwardly in opposite directions to form bottom panels, upwardly to form side panels and inwardly to form top panels, the ends of said carton blank terminating adjacent said two-ply wall and being secured to the nearest ply at a 1ocation below the top edge of said two-ply wall, the portion of said two-ply wall above the top panels serving as a twoply handle and being separable along perforations in said blank from the remainder of said blank whereby removal of said upper portion permits separation of the plys of said wall and divisi-on of said carton along the plane of said wall.

2. A carton as in claim 1 wherein the ends of the blank are secured -to the respect-ive ply by an interlocking tab and slot arrangement which includes: a first Itab having a release iiap projecting therefrom and a locking edge disposed on each side of said liap, said first tab being foldable upwardly from a top panel to form a slot; a second tab foldable from a ply Iof said two-ply wall and insertable into said slot, the free end of said second tab being foldable downwardly to thereby `form at least one edge engageable with one of said locking edges.

3. A carton blank for forming a divisible vcarton which is ch-aracterized in having suicient strength and rigidity to withstand handling during shipping Without deforming, said blank being rectangular and having: a rst fold line extending transversely from one side edge to an opposite side edge at right angles thereto; cut lines on both sides of said first fold yline defining a row of transversely spaced first locking tabs on each side of said first fold line, the spaces between said tabs and between the tabs at the ends of the rows and the edges of the blank being traversed by a perforated line so that tearing `along the perforated lines removes a transverse strip t-o divide sa-id blank into two parts after having been folded into a divisible carton but does not remove said looking tabs; cut lines close to each end of the blank defining a plurality of transversely spaced second locking tabs which are adapted to look with said first locking tabs; a plural-ity of transverse panel- Vforming fold lines between said first fold line and each end of the blank; and cut lines defining a locking tab arrangement disposed longitudinally outwardly of each row of first locking tabs and adapted to lock with each other.

4. A carton blank as in claim `3 further including a division line normal to said first fold line, said division line extending from one end of the blank to the other and being defined over a substantial portion of -its length by a series of alternate straight cut lines and nicks 'whereby the blank is divisible `along a line which is transverse to the tear strip defined by said perforated lines and said first locking tabs.

5. A carton blank as in claim `i wherein the portion of said division line passing between the rows of rst locking tabs is defined by perforations.

6. A locking tab arrangement for cartons or the like comprising: a `first tab foldable out of the plane of a sheet of carton blank material so as to forni `a slot, said first tab having a release flap projecting therefrom in a direction away 4from the line of fold and a looking edge disposed on each side of said fiap; a second tab -foldable lout of the Iplane of a sheet of carton blank material and insertable into said slot, said second tab having a cut line which defines la generally centrally located locking iiap when the lfree end of said second tab is folded relative to the remainder of the tab along a line through the base of said locking tab, said line defining a pair of edges engageable by said locking edges of said first tab.

'7. A carton as in claim 1 which is also divisible along at least one plane transverse to the plane of said two-ply wall, said transverse plane being defined, when said blank is unfolded, by a division line extending transverse to said middle fold line from one end of said blank to the other end of said blank.

8. A carton as in claim 7 wherein said division line is defined along -a substantial portion of its lengt-h by a series of cut lines and nicks.

9. A carton as in claim 7 wherein the portion of said division line passing between the rows of first locking talbs is defined by perforations .and wherein the remainder o-f said division line is defined by a series o'f cut lines and nicks.

10. A carton as in claim 1 including means releasably securing together the lower portions of said two-ply wall.

11. A 4carton as Iin claim 10 wherein said securing means includes complementary slots and tabs defined by cut lines in the lower portions of said two-ply wall.

12. A carton as in claim 1 wherein the ends of the blank are secured to the respective ply by an interlocking tab and slot arrangement comprising a row of spaced tabs defined by cut lines in each ply above the top panels, said tabs being integral with the remainder of the respective ply at about the location of the ends of the blank, said tabs being bent out of the respective ply into interlocking engagement with slots in the adjacent top panel, the resulting holes in the two-ply wall serving as finger holes in said handle portion.

13. A carton as in claim 1 including cut lines in said top panels defining spaced finger holes.

14. A divisible carton having side wall panels and a two-ply wall disposed parallel to said side wall panels and dividing the carton into two compartments, said carton being formed of a single blank of flexible material which in unfolded condition has: a first fold line extending across said blank; a row of spaced first locking tabs disposed on each side of said first fold line; a line of perforations extending between adjacent first locking tabs; a row of spaced second locking tabs .at each end of said blank; a plurality Iof additional fold lines intermediate each end of the blank and said first fold line and extending parallel to said first fold line; and at least one division Iline extending from one end of the blank to the other end and normal to said fold lines, said blank being folded along said first fold line and releasalbly secured together to form said two-ply wall, said blank being `folded along the other :fold lines t-o form said side wall panels and to dispose each end of said blank adjacent said first locking tabs which are nearest the respective end, said first and second locking tabs being secured together whereby said carton is divisible into at least four carton units, two units being formed upon division along said perforations and two additional units being for-med upon division along said division line.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,950,854 8/1960 Ganz 206-65 2,975,934 3/ 1961 Powell 229-51 3,128,034 4/1964 Weiss 206-65 FRANKLIN T. GARRE'IT, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CARTON DIVISIBLE ALONG A VERTICAL PLANE, SAID CARTON HAVING PARALLEL TOP AND BOTTOM PANELS AND PARALLEL SIDE PANELS AND BEING FORMED OF A SINGLE RECTANGULAR BLANK OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL, SAID BLANK BEING FOLDED DOWNWARDLY AGAINST ITSELF ALONG A MIDDLE LINE TO FORM A TWO-PLY WALL WHOSE TOP EDGE IS DEFINED BY THE LINE OF FOLD, THEN OUTWARDLY IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS TO FORM BOTTOM PANELS, UPWARDLY TO FORM SIDE PANELS AND INWARDLY TO FORM TOP PANELS, THE ENDS OF SAID CARTON BLANK TERMINATING ADJACENT SAID TWO-PLY WALL AND BEING SECURED TO THE NEAREST PLY AT A LOCATION BELOW THE TOP EDGE OF SAID TWO-PLY WALL, THE PORTION OF SAID TWO-PLY WALL ABOVE THE TOP PANELS SERVING AS A TWOPLY HANDLE AND BEING SEPARABLE ALONG PERFORATIONS IN SAID BLANK FROM THE REMAINDER OF SAID BLANK WHEREBY REMOVAL OF SAID UPPER PORTION PERMITS SEPARATION OF THE PLYS OF SAID WALL AND DIVISION OF SAID CARTON ALONG THE PLANE OF SAID WALL. 